Your choice of ice axe will depend on the terrain you intend traverse. Ice axes at either end of the technical spectrum are totally useless at the opposite end of spectrum.

A technical climbing axe would be useless and dangerous as a general walking/mountaineering axe. There is some cross over in mid range axes but generally speaking, walking/mountaineering axes must have the ability to be used in an ice axe break situation which in turn means the pick angle needs to be relatively shallow. Technical axes have steeper picks for climbing vertical ice.

Walking axe length has always been a controversial topic. Our advice is not to buy an axe with a shaft that is too long. 60cm is the most popular length. If you want a walking stick buy walking poles. Remember that the point of contact for the axe tip will up the slope slightly so, the old adage of ‘the axe tip should touch the ground while your arm is straight’ is not necessarily correct. Longer shafts are also more difficult to use in an ice axe break.